If you see me on a beach this weekend with a stick, an iPhone, and my dog Stella, it will be because I am trying to replicate this gif. I may even attach Rubber Duck to the end of the stick but I might have to wrap the end with some ham or roast beef. If Stella does not cooperate I will then attach Cheetos and try to get some Homies in on the act. If you think you can do better, go for it. Nichole could go out on the Blackburn Rotary and circle a few times but she should let a passenger handle the stick and meat products. If you have read this whole thing the dog has gone around at least six times. Are you dizzy yet? Doesn’t it look like Good Harbor Beach? I promise to pick up after my dog. –Paul Morrison and Rubber Duck
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Normally winter is my time to be creative. My life’s path took me on some unexpected twists and turns this fall and winter, which made it impossible for me to get into my creative space. As I’m sure all creative people can attest, sometimes the muse goes away for a time. I used to fret, believing she might never return; but in her own time, she always does. She unexpectedly re-emerged a couple of weeks ago, and took me, as she always does, in a new direction. These are a few new pieces I have completed. This series is old and new. It is a mixed media combination of my abstract photos of last year, coupled with the glass painting of the prior year. While sorting things at my mother’s house, I came across a container of unused glass slides, which have and will make their way into many of these pieces. I have never worked in a square format before, which I am really enjoying, having been inspired by my artist friend, Tom Nihan’s work. All pieces are 8×8 multi-layered photos and glass paintings, and are whimsical and fun – just what I need now. In addition to brushes, I am using rubber ducks and ear plugs to paint with. Yes Paul, RD was instrumental in getting me going, although she has gotten a little messy with paint all over her bottom.
You can see some of my new work at the Spring Art Show at the Magnolia Historical Society Friday, April 11 from 6 till 9pm Opening, Saturday, April 12 2pm till 8pm and Sunday, April 13 Noon till 4pm. More details coming soon.
E.J. Lefavour
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Now that even PCMag has selected the Apple Macintosh Operating System as Editor’s Choice, best OS for desktop and laptop the questions about how I do stuff on the Mac is increasing. But I am the worst person to ask. I’ve been using Macs since 1984 so my brain is stuck using methods from all the older programs with all the glitches and work arounds that I keep on using because my brain can’t handle new.
So when someone asks me how to manipulate a photo, I run through my list. iPhoto to resize, change color, Pixelmator to erase background, Photoshop when I want to tilt or animate. But then a Mac Group I belong to points out that most all of that can be done using “Preview”.
Rubber Duck and Homie on their Honeymoon. It went downhill after that.
What? Preview, the tiny built in Mac program that fires up when you double-click on a photo? I thought you could only … Preview a photo. But no, with MacOS X 10.9.2 Mavericks, Preview has added even more easy tricks. 99% of what I want to do with a photo can be done in Preview. I just need to fire it up and look at the menu, “Tools” especially.
Look at all the stuff you can do without actually running a big photo program! Adjust the color and tint, get Info on size, crop to your hearts content and it even tells you while doing so how many pixels so cropping to that 81×81 sized avatar is now simple. “Export” to any file format and done. This touches on only a few tools and tricks inside Preview. Go double-click on a photo and check out every menu item. You might find like I did that you are wasting time using humongous programs and complicated tricks when the Newbie who just bought their first Mac yesterday is way ahead of you.
ps. The text bubbles I did in Preview too! I created the set-up seen here and used “Grab” in timed screen mode so that my crop was visible. Grab is another program that comes with your Mac. What an easy way to grab a Rubber Duck’s head and stick it on a squirrel’s body but that is another post entirely.
pps. One actual photo tip (if you’re still reading this) from an actual photographer That would not be me): when adjusting contrast, shadow, highlights, you can really mess a photo up. The trick to make it simple:
1) Turn saturation to zero, leftmost. That turns off color.
2) Now go ahead with contrast, exposure, shadow, highlights to get the photo to pop in Black and White.
3) Now go back to saturation and bring color back up, then check the tint. Works for me because otherwise I have no idea what I’m doing and my duck ends up orange with red lipstick applied by Picasso.
Still Life With Rubber Duck
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Wow, what an unbelievable amount of boat stuff all in one place. If you put all these boats in the water the ocean level would rise at least a few inches.
J&L Marine. The J and the L were way too busy actually working so Rubber Duck manned the booth.Tobin Dominick showed the Rubber Duck around the Cape Ann Marina booths. The consummate professional Tobin is not about to burst out laughing.
Cape Ann Marina has just way too much cool stuff going on. If you have not had breakfast at the Mile Marker Restaurant lately, order one of the Eggs Benedict and don’t forget the home fries. (Menu here.) These are not your ordinary home fries. They do some kind of magical double cooking of them so they are soft on the inside and crunchy but not greasy on the outside. I could just eat them alone for breakfast but their Benedict sauce has just the right amount of creamy goodness, and their crab cakes … oh wait, they also have a pretty nice marina, swimming pool (buy a punch card!), and they’ll fix your engine. You have to click through their entire web page and dream about summer.
Anyway, why did I label this post New England Boat Show: Dazed and Confused? Find out by clicking more below:
This morning 10AM the official start of spring in New England! Type in 415 Summer St, Boston into your GPS and get over to the BCEC right now! Go smell the fresh fiberglass of powerboats, sailboats, shiny stainless steel accessories and marine electronics. You know you need a new anchor, new LED lights, new fishing lure, new depth gauge, new side scan sonar, new boat gizmo of some kind!.
New England Boat Show website. Cape Ann is represented at the boat show. Rubber Duck has a quick tip. Go straight there and buy tickets at the door. The one thing you want to bring is a floor map (click here). Before you go just find all the booths you do not want to miss and circle them. It’s a big show so you might miss something.
No more football says the duck. Let’s go for a bike ride says the duck. It’s a glorious MLK kind of day says the duck. Let’s go for a swim says the duck. Whoah, you lost me on that last one rubber.
I have been getting inundated by this news and I thought it might be better to not post but we all must know. Barry Pollock first shared with me this sad news yesterday while we waited for the countdown to polar swim. When Barry told me the news I thought it was old news because a less horrible duck leak had happened a month ago.
But he was correct, A Gigantic Yellow Duck Exploded in Taiwan harbor just a few days ago. Do not watch this video with small children or if you are at work. Oh, the humanity.
My new swimsuit arrived today from Coastal Dog Apparel in plenty of time for the New Year’s Polar Plunge. These thing are pretty snazzy and might be just the thing for a cold dip. Comfy and loose outer swimsuit with an inner swimsuit that is form fitting. Keeping those kibbles and bits all snug is key when diving into 42° F ice water.
The tourists and the snowy owls all flew away. I wonder why?
To prepare for the chill the Rubber Duck went off to Stage Fort Park to check out the snowy owls.
This is a photo of a sexy potato which has nothing whatsoever to do with this post.
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Stella, our dog, small brain, but good memory of scary experiences. For example, four years after stepping in a puddle on the first granite step of the porch she still refuses to step on it. Pauses, then leaps over the steps. THERE ARE ALLIGATORS IN PUDDLES AND THEY WILL EAT ME!
Last spring Stella looking out front window making sure the dogs and dog walkers are leaving her yard. (When they enter she hides but as soon as they are moving away our super hero might even bark once.)
She is doing this one night and a cat who has been on the porch sticks her head up right in Stella’s face. Stella has a doggy heart attack but does get off a bark once the cat has split. Then for several weeks she is parked at that window waiting for the return of the demon cat. Bored one night, I whip off a cat silhouette on the band saw, sneak out on the porch and stick it in Stella’s face. Endless amusement. After a half hour I stopped figuring Stella might have a stroke if I kept it up.
Stuck the silhouette in the shop window which has no heat and this morning thought I might try a Len and shoot some ice crystals.
But I may have learned something. We had an insane cat bird who would slam into our windows in the spring. I think he was attacking the interloper he saw as a reflection. I think when he comes back this spring the window he hits is the one I put the cat in. Or Rubber Ducks. Not the Rubber Duck but I have enough ducks to put in every window. Shoot, I could put an LED light in each and be ready for Festivus.
Let it be known that on this day, December Seventh, 2013 that Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, Saint Nicholas, or simply, as the chorus of small children who lined the jetties and docks of Rockport, Massachusetts exclaimed, “Santa!, It’s Santa Claus!” , came to town.
This jaded reporter who has been numbed by the commercialization of Christmas, the War on Christmas, the War on the War on Christmas, the Black Friday mobs rushing the Best Buys and Walmarts to claw at presents that are supposed to assure the winner a gob of Christmas cheer, finds himself on Tuna Wharf in Rockport recharging his Christmas cheer batteries with the true meaning of Christmas. Little kids screaming their heads off as Santa rides the Freemantle Doctor into the harbor.
And here he is, Santa Claus:
And not to take anything away from Santa as his job on Christmas is a huge one but this year I would like to point out the Rockport Santa production would be nothing if it wasn’t for all the elves who do all the hard work getting Santa in the right spot at the right time. Who would light the tree in Dock Square if Santa were still sitting out on a buoy off Jefferys Basin? So without further ado, just a few of the elves who made the Rockport Santa production possible:
The Rockport Harbormaster had a boatful of Elves:
The Coast Guard Elves were scurrying about but here are a few:
And last but not least, the Freemantle Doctor Elves:
Santa pays these elves squat but they all went home with something more important than presents or money or even the hot cider and doughnuts and everything else that people were enjoying over in Dock Square as they were hard at work in the cold and wind making sure that Santa made it to ride the fire truck into the Square. They boated home in the dark with the warm feeling in their hearts that only a cheering throng of children can bestow, Christmas Cheer. Even the Rubber Duck got a little emotional but I promised her I would post no photos of her blubbering.
-Paul Morrison and Rubber Duck
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Rubber Dock got this whole Lobster Trap Christmas Tree done in ten minutes this weekend. Spent three minutes on Saturday and seven minutes on Sunday. Hard work and still made it to the Patriots kick off.
Saturday: I think this tree is a little short. Need a few more traps. Over here on the right. Chop Chop.And some more over here on the left! Anyone? Hello?David, I’m thinking maybe you should put a star here on top?Look ! Right here! This star!David, pay attention and stop looking at that camera! The star! Right where I’m sitting!Here are some more elves who spent the entire weekend putting up this tree while the elves who blew out their knee stayed home. Ten minutes are up and Rubber Duck has to go watch a football game.
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Well I don’t know why I came here tonight, I got the feeling that something ain’t right, I’m so scared in case I fall off my chair, And I’m wondering how I’ll get down the stairs, Ed’s to the left of me, Joey to the right, here I am, Stuck in the middle with you.
RD:”I am pretty sure this is not how you make Turduckin.”
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But it looks like they might need some help Sunday morning.
Good Morning Gloucester 